Over the course of the next few weeks, UBC will be embarking on an exercise to better understand our current distribution of services and activities, in support of the university’s academic mission.

The program, known as UniForum, will involve collecting information from across our university and benchmarking it against other higher education institutions. Forty-two institutions from Britain, Australia and New Zealand have already taken part in this program which is conducted on an annual basis.

Our goal is to better understand — at an organizational level — how we deliver which services, where those services are, and how we might enhance our service delivery to improve the faculty, student, and staff experience.

The information will be gathered in two steps:

In May, we will be asking managers and supervisors of specific teams to help us gather a full picture of the range of services and activities across the university.

In late May, all faculty and staff will be invited to take a survey and provide feedback on their experience and satisfaction related to 35 core services (identified as part of the program).

Information gathered through this process will enable us to benchmark ourselves against other universities of similar scale and complexity. It will also help UBC work towards developing better practices, informed by experiences from participating institutions.

The information we gather in this first year will be a resource for many conversations to come — not an answer in and of itself. In the fall, we will begin a series of conversations to explore what the data suggests and how it can be used.

We have already begun discussions with senior leaders across the university, in preparation for this first wave of the UniForum program. Thank you to all those who have supported the initiative so far — and to those managers and supervisors who will be assisting with the information gathering process.

If you are a manager of staff whose work is not computer-based, please print this email and display it in a common work area for them to review.

To: Faculty and staff in Vancouver

Yesterday, the Vancouver Senate approved the evolution of Continuing Studies (CS) into a new unit called UBC Extended Learning (UBC ExL), effective July 1, 2017.

UBC ExL will build on the strengths of CS and continue to provide outstanding flexible learning experiences, but with an extended mandate to support Faculties in growing and expanding UBC’s offerings related to Career and Personal Education (CPE).

The change in name and mandate is the first step in an ongoing process through which the Office of the Provost is consulting with and reviewing the university’s current CPE programs.

We have already taken the first steps in this realignment by transferring the business-oriented courses in the Technology, Media and Professional (TMAP) program to UBC Sauder School of Business. In doing so, UBC has created the largest suite of executive education offerings in North America.

Over the next several months we will continue to work closely with units engaged in CPE activities and anticipate being able to share a final UBC ExL plan in late 2017. The current strategy — which has been endorsed by deans, alumni, and the executive — can be found at https://academic.ubc.ca/CPE_strategy_overview_Feb-2017.

Career and Personal Education (CPE) is an opportunity for UBC to strengthen its contributions to learners, society, industry and government, and enhance alumni engagement through the provision of continued education that is relevant, modular, flexible and high quality.

UBC is in the midst of a strategic planning process. UBC’s Next Century will serve as a road map, to help us focus even more intently on our core activities of education and research. It also provides an opportunity for you to help shape the priorities that will influence our university for years to come.

We are now at the point of seeking your input once again, this time on our draft strategic priorities through a series of open house events. I encourage you to join the discussion and bring your ideas for how UBC can continue to evolve as we enter our next century.

If you are not able to join us at one of the events, there will be additional opportunities to share your ideas. A survey about the priorities, core commitments and challenges will be launched during the week of March 20. You will receive a personal email invitation to complete this survey — so please look out for it.

This is a great opportunity to help shape the future of our university. Whatever program you are taking at UBC, I hope you will get involved.

As you may be aware, UBC is in the midst of a comprehensive strategic planning process. UBC’s Next Century will serve as a road map, helping us focus even more intently on our core activities of education and research. It also provides an opportunity for you to help shape the priorities that will influence our university for years to come.

Your feedback has been shared with a Steering Committee made up of faculty, staff, students and alumni. The committee has considered these comments, along with other input, and identified draft strategic priorities for further consultation. We are now at the stage of inviting your input on these draft strategic priorities, with a series of open house events.

I encourage you to join the discussion and help shape UBC’s future. The event details are as follows:

If you are not able to join one of the events, there are additional opportunities to share your ideas. A survey about the draft priorities, core commitments and challenges will be launched during the week of March 20. You can expect to receive a personal email invitation to complete this survey — so please look out for it.

As I have stated before, this is a great opportunity to help shape the future of our university. Whatever your role at UBC, I hope you will attend one of the events or share your thoughts via the survey.

Together we can transform an already outstanding institution from excellence to eminence.